with a lung infection since june 8th and hearing from the white house, as well. a spokesperson saying, quote, we have seen the latest reports from the african government that former president mandela is in critical condition. our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and the people of south africa. that coming from the white house, the national security count cell spokesperson. all right. another big story we're following for you. the man behind the nsa leaks edward snowden is heading for ecuador according to wikileaks. that organization helped snowden get from hong kong to russia earlier today. he landed in moscow today. russian news agencies reported that snowden could stop in cuba before making his way to ecuador. phil black joins us live from moscow. when last we spoke, it wasn't clear whether he left the airport. do we know more about whether

he'll be overnighting somewhere outside of the airport? >> reporter: no. still, fredericka, looks likely to stay at moscow's airport. he arrived around 5:00 p.m. local time but even before then it was pretty clear there were signs on the ground that the government of ecuador looking to influence or play some role in the fate. the ambassador's car was parked outside. other officials and diplomats, their vehicles were seen coming and going and we know from the government of ecuador, yes, edward snowden asked officially for asylum. how will he get there? presumably getting to the region as quickly, as directly as possible. the obvious choice is a direct flight on monday afternoon. now, it looks like if that's true, he's prepared to wait out that time in the transit area of the airport. he probably doesn't have a russian visa with him. we don't know how the russian

government feels about the fact he is here, arrived on the doorstep. how will they respond? will they let him fly or extract further intelligence from him or will they assist the united states in helping to reclaim one of its most want citizens. fredericka? >> all right. i guess we'd love to hear the answers from the russian government and more likely than night to remain tight lipped about all of those things, right? >> reporter: they have a track record for keeping secrets when they want to, yes. so certainly, not declaring the hand until it's absolutely necessary and probably what's going on here and weighing up the pros and cons of the options. they said if he was on the doorstep, think'd look at the presence. if he happened to make asylum claim and an idea to do that asking russia for asylum if he has to and looking at the facts on the merits and make a decision one way or another. certainly, they would be aware

of the fact that if they were to help him, if they were to take advantage of his presence here trying to plunder what information to get from him, there would be consequences in terms of the relationship with the united states. >> all right. fascinating stuff. thanks so much. we know that ecuadorian officials tweeted out earlier today that a formal request was made by edward snowden for asylum in ecuador and interesting to see if the request now comes the way of russia, as well. thanks so much. today, we have heard from lawmakers who say this puts a big strain on u.s. relations with russia. i talked to congressman peter king earlier and he said he thinks russian president vladimir putin knew snowden was coming and he said there should be consequences. >> yeah. diplomatic consequences. consider trade consequences. economic consequences. this is relationship that russia needs as much if not more than we do. and we can't allow it to go

ahead business as usual when putin allows something like this to happen so i'm talking, again, the opportunity will come over the next several months or a year where russia will need us on something involving trade or diplomacy, involving finance where the u.s. will basically say, no, and we'll make it difficult for putin. he should know that now, not to expect any favors. >> jill dougherty joining me now from washington. we heard from chuck schumer who said he's infuriated that russia is helping snowden. how damaging could this be and should anyone be surprised? >> this is something that's kind of out of the ordinary so i think a lot of people were caught off guard and maybe even the russians by this. i think that the relationship is bad. and it's bad on many levels because already there was so many problems. over syria, especially. and now to have this.

yeah. i just want to point out one thing. just a couple of seconds ago in a very quickly changing story, fred, state department official is saying that the united states has been reaching out to countries in the western hemisphere, probably ecuador, nicaragua and cuba and urging them that the u.s. is advising those governments that snowden is wanted on felony charges and, therefore, as such should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel other than necessary to return him to the united states. so that is the statement that we heard a little bit a while ago, but now, we are finding out that that's specifically now talking to the latin american countries and probably ecuador, specifically for this. but again, the relationship with russia and you could say the relationship with china already are pretty fraught on a number

of areas and this is really going to hurt it. >> and while it's too late now for the u.s. to try to figure out why hong kong allowed him to go in the first place, surely that's a confers coming down the road once the u.s. is able to secure perhaps apprehending snowden? >> yes. well, you know, i think a lot of these -- the way it was handled in hong kong, the fact he didn't apparently have an active american passport that it had been annulled or -- by the united states, that revoked i should say, that -- the fact he got in, he got in to russia, how did he get in to russia, what kind of passport and expect to get out, that there is from all of his -- both of these countries, russia and china, there's a certain amount of d y deniability on technicalities. we couldn't hold him because and

it might solve some diplomatic problems for those countries but overall it worsens the relationship. >> certainly. all right. thanks so much, jill dougherty. appreciate it from washington. so of course, president obama is kept abreast of these developments. white house correspondent dan lothian joining me now. dan, the president probably and the white house as a whole probably hoping to get the better results in hong kong but now we understand the president's being kept abreast. >> reporter: you're right. they hoped it would be resolved. certainly not immediately talking to legal experts. they said even in the best-case scenario, talking about extradition, it can take several months, a person we spoke with predicting before snow den left hong kong to take many months before he would return to the united states and the hope was it would have happened quickly

here from the white house. officials are being very tight lipped object the details and ongoing talks. we know according to a senior administration official that the president has been getting briefed throughout the day on snowden movements, updated by the national security team. beyond that, what officials are saying at the state department and also from justice as jill was pointing out, essentially a warning to countries, if snowden is in your country, he should be expelled back to the united states. the's concern a then beyond that you have just the dip plo mloma situation. how will it impact the relationship between the u.s. and the china, the u.s. and hong kong, russia and other country that opens their arms to snowden. >> thanks so much to dan lothian at the white house. another big story following for you here in the states.

massachusetts, the latest on the investigation under way at the home of aaron hernandez. and with opening statements starting tomorrow in the george zimmerman murder trial, a legal s setback for prosecutors this weekend. fans rally behind paula deen. another corporate partner is having second thoughts. we do a ton of research projects on angie's list.home... at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you.

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second time investigators have searched the home of new england patriots star aaron hernandez. they're looking in to the death of odon lloyd, a friend of hernandez. susan candiotti is watching the investigation. >> reporter: if patriots tight end aaron hernandez had plans for a quiet saturday afternoon, it didn't turn out that way. for the second time in a week, investigators this time almost twice as many as before, descended on his home in several cars and spent four hours conducting a search. a local lock smith was involved going in and out. so were at least two police dogs. investigators wearing gloves carried equipment in cases. no outdoor sightings of the famous homeowner but his lawyer from firms from uboston to hong kong arrived.

he was looking outside, police are not calling hernandez a suspect in the murder of odon lloyd, shot to death monday. however, investigators are making the star football player a focus. lloyd's body found less than a mile from the tight end's home and on saturday police continued to guard the scene. lloyd's family describes hernandez as a friend and says the two partied at nightclubs together. the girlfriends of both men are sisters. surveillance video reportedly shows the men together on the street where lloyd lives hours before lloyd's body was found. authorities on thursday also searched this providence, rhode island, strip club in connection with the murder investigation. police tell cnn detectives seized surveillance videos taken inside club desire that covered more than two days. it's unclear whether they're trying to document whether the victim and hernandez may have been there or for another reason.

now, there is absolutely no police activity on this day. however, as you can see right now, taking a look at a live report, they seem to be shuffling cars around. the one with the license plead to head hernandez is among the three cars. who knows what it means, of course, however. aaron hernandez does remain under a microscope. we can tell you that for sure and we know that investigators are hard at work certainly among other things analyzing what they removed from this house yesterday and all of those evidence bags. fred? >> and in terms of activity around the house or, you know, seeing aaron hernandez coming and going, that hasn't taken place yet either until now with the vehicles and that traffic? >> reporter: that's right. it's been quiet out here all day today. we didn't expect police activity. everyone wants the know what's the next step here? will more search warrants be

executed? is it possible there's an arrest warrant in aaron hernandez's future? police did not label his a suspect but you can imagine people wonder what will happen next, especially the family of victim odon lloyd who certainly wants the know what's happening and just want justice, fred. >> susan candiotti, thank you so much outside boston. the trayvon martin shooting death is back in the news. coming up, a look at what the prosecution and defense are expected to say in tomorrow's opening statements. hi, i'm terry and i have diabetic nerve pain.

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all right. jury selection is over and tomorrow opening statements begin in the george zumerman

murder trial, charged with second-degree murder in the death of trayvon martin. joining me is two attorneys. good to see you both. >> you, too. >> we have opening statements. all-female jury an highly anticipated case. there's a ruling on the 911 expert testimony of those calls. mo, let's begin with opening statements tomorrow. what can be the expectations? i mean, it's a lot for the jurors to hear all about once but knowing the jury is all female, are these attorneys now trying to craft a different kind or a more personalized kind of opening statement? does it matter the makeup of the jury? >> well, sure. it does matter the makeup of the jury but a general story that they'll tell that's all the been the same, trayvon, a 17-year-old went out to get a drink and a snack and ended up dead and

expand on how all of that happened but the point of it and maybe exactly to the five mothers on the jury, when you let your child to go out for a snack, do you expect him to be dead because of a neighborhood volunteer watchman? that's important to convey trayvon was pursued by, you know, a crazy man who felt that he had the authority to take things in to his own hands and ended up being a killer. >> carrie, how succinct does that statement have to be? >> i think that's the prosecution's standpoint. the defense standpoint is that george zimmerman was following trayvon martin around and some point george zimmerman became the victim in this situation and needed to defend himself so the stories are somewhat different from the prosecution and defense standpoint. i think what's important to know, though, about the opening statement is not supposed to be argumentative.

each side has to be careful to tell the jury what they expect the evidence to show. >> would you expect it to be leng lengthy or short and sweet? you have to engage the jury but paint a picture both sides with some matter of detail. >> yeah. >> that's right. >> sure. >> it needs to be descriptive but they need to basically establish their themes of the case and somehow engage the jury and get the jury to trust them and to really find -- have some faith in their telling of the story. >> with five women, needs to be descriptive. we're about details. right? we like long conversations. >> for sure. >> we like, tell me more. i didn't know that. it's very important to be descriptive and bring -- listen. argumentative is just about tone. right? they have to be -- not necessarily what you say but how you say it. >> they need to be able to visualize. >> as we talk about the details and visualization, again, unless

there is some kind of new bombshell, eyewitness that steps forward, we understand there to be no eyewitnesss of the actual shooting, what took place just prior to it, what took place at the moment of that shooting, et cetera. that's why the 911 call is so crucial and a ruling, judge nelson said we won't allow the analysis of that 911 call but it will be entered nonetheless and the judge did exactly what you all had mentioned talking a couple weeks ago. other witnesses who know that voice, know the voice of martin or zimmerman, would be permissi permissipe permissib permissible. how do you see the 911 recording a crucial element of this case, mo? >> sure. i was amazed how everyone said what a los for the prosecution. that's not a loss for the prosecution in the sense that they have the most crucial testimony about that call from his mother. it's going to be so important,

for sure -- >> you think -- >> absolutely. >> i think that she is going to testify and i think she'll probably either testify first or last because very important testimony and witnesses generally you want the jury to hear that from the outset or hear it leaving them to leave that impression on them and i think that she's really going to be a sympathetic witness. i wouldn't be surprised if the defense team finds somebody from zimmerman's past that could testify that it's actually him on that recording and then it will be up to the jury to listen to it, listen to both sides and to determine who they think that is crying out for help. >> it's a different impact to hear a child crying out for help now dead than for somebody, a cousin, a brother, even george zimmerman's voice and your child is sitting right there. that's a win for the prosecution. >> fascinating stuff. we are going to be on pins and needles beginning tomorrow with opening statements and everything happens after that.

mo, carrie, thank you so much. >> thank you. all right. the man behind the nsa leaks stays one step ahead of the u.s. edward snowden is on the run. he's in moscow right now. we'll look at how the u.s. is responding. plus, an incredible scene in canada where a town of 10,000 is nearly empty right now. almost all of the folks there have evacuated because of some serious needing. dad. how did you get here?

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african officials are saying that nelson mandela is in critical condition. south african president zuma says, quote, doctors are doing everything to get his condition to improve and that he is well looked after and comfortable, end quote. the former south african president is hospitalized with a lung infection since june 8th. we are also hearing from the white house specifically. national security council spokesperson hayden saying, quote, we have seen the latest reports from the south african government that former president mandela is in critical condition. our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and the people of south africa, end quote. let's bring in an editorial producer here at cnn. african and in touch with the

family. and you have had your own personal experiences with nelson mandela. what are you hearing thus far? >> the family up until now hasn't been very alarmist but when i texted them earlier is what the south african government saying that serious? i got a simple word, yes. so we are looking at very critical condition. 18th day he's been in hospital and some of the organs have been shutting down but why it's so secretive. people don't want anyone to panic. if and when he does pass and the body is no longer with us, they want it to be orderly. this impacts the whole country and the whole world. >> this has made a difference with the president saying -- >> very much so. because up until this time he's saying he's okay. the fact that it sounds imminent, i'll tell you a couple of months ago mandela's daughter said, i'm so intrigued that everybody's taking this so

seriously. i'm staying in argentina where she's the ambassador. exactly two weeks ago she texted me and said, just to let you know, i'm flying back which was her awway of saying it's very serious. the fact he said it. and again, last week or so, a very close friend of mandela's said, let him go. and what he really meant is spiritually. can the family let him go to release him physically? >> there's several references. >> the clan name. tata is father. one who shakes the tree. and he certainly has shaken the tree and positively impacted many people's lives. >> keep us posted. prayers going out for the former president mandela. everyone is hoping that he does well or at least recovers but this information certainly very serious. appreciate it. all right. now our other breaking news, all

eyes are on moscow where edward snowden may be spending the night after arriving there earlier today. the wikileaks group helped him get there and it says snowden is heading to ecuador. russian news agencies report that he may first stop in cuba. jonathan turley of george washington defended espionage cases before. professor, we just spoke yesterday talking about the espionage charge and how that may complicate things. why not the u.s. have not instead impose a theft of government property? this is different. so much for the red flags issued across the world. the globe. all airports that because of these charges, edward snowden wouldn't be able to travel so effortlessly but it happened. how do you suppose that is? >> well, because ultimately interpoll and extradition

treaties are read differently by countries in different circumstances. these treaties, particularly for extradition, have plenty of outs for countries to use. interpoll read notices if they did go out, not mandatory in the sense that they can be enforced by a country like russia. so what's clear is in my view russia signaled his team that they could use the transit through moscow. now, how they did that still remains to be seen. whether he actually passed through the doors of russia or whether he was held before that type of processing, it's also not clear whether the ecuadorian ambassador met him and gave him any type of diplomatic protection, even a passport. >> earlier i was talking to state department correspondent jill dougherty saying he received some information from an official within the state

department who said that countries should hand him over because of the felony charges, the pending felony charges. but the word should, is that much more of a cooperation or is there like a written agreement between countries that they're supposed to recognize those charges and hand him over and russia doesn't necessarily have that playbook, nor does china? >> fredericka, i think in fairness to how this is viewed around the world to many people, the united states itself has a rather checkered history of observing international treaties. we have been accused in the drone attacks of violating national sovereignty. we were accused of violating the treaties governing forwhich you are and ntorture and the united states has many critics in terms of how we enforce ourselves, international law, international obligations. the fact is these are very

political issues. but what you have to keep in mind is for extradition, there's an overriding question of whether a charged crime was a political apt. most if not all extradition cla requests come with the claim that someone committed a charge and they can consider whether it's plit kl and doesn't help to have the senators and members of congress calling for this guy's head and saying they want to catch the traitor and face the possible death penalty. all this human cry adds to this sort of political perspective of the case that is not going to help the united states, state department or justice department. >> all right. professor turley, appreciate your time. thank you. >> thanks, fredericka. as we have been reporting, edward snowsen is on the road.

i'll talk to a former congresswoman jane harmon of why she says there's room for debate. plus, paula deen's unraveling empire. a cable network dumps her cooking show. another one is rethinking its ties to her products. we've been bringing people together. today, we'd like people to come together on something that concerns all of us. obesity. and as the nation's leading beverage company, we can play an important role.

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edward snowden is sitting tight in moscow as we understand it at least for now as u.s. officials scramble to try to bring him home to face espionage charges among other things. it sparked a debate. former congresswoman jane harmon doesn't condone what snowden did and says that the current system needs some tweaking? is that right, congresswoman? >> that's right. first of all, all this chatter about the balance between

security and liberty i think misses the point. we either get more security and liberty or we get less. and a good news story is the fact that finally let's see now, nine years after the intelligence reform law passed, the privacy and civil liberties commission that is required under that law is functioning and president obama met with them last friday. that should give a lot of assurance to americans that a careful review of the policies is under way. i also hope that in light of these unauthorized leaks i deplore the unauthorized leaks but given that that's happened, i think more information should be and is being declassified by the white house to enable the public to be more informed and have a more robust debate and perhaps for congress to revisit these statutes and tweak them. that would mean possibly narrow them a bit to ensure better

oversight or better disclosure. >> what do you say to snowden sympathizers bravo to him to declassify information that he revealed that people's privacy being infringed upon, that their phones were being listened to, that their e-mailed reviewed without their consent and he is doing a good thing, done a good thing revealing that intelligence gathering has gone too far? >> i say that whistle-blowers should be protected. there were channels authorized channels where he could have made his case. i applaud the way ron widen and mark udall made their case in the senate through authorized channels but what he did was not, first of all, a lot of the information about the programs is out will fthere for years ane was congressional debate in 2008. and when the patriot act is

renewed over the years, there is an a provision of business records that applies here and people generally knew about this and by disclosing the programs and who knows, hundreds of pages of unauthorized classified information, i think he's damaged u.s. national security and surely he's been -- >> to what extent do you think he's damaged national security? >> well, he's being charged under the espionage act. that's pretty serious. may face long jail terms for willfully disclosing classified information. it is reported he used thumbdrives to suck information out of government computers. it may go far beyond these programs and as i said i support a public debate about these programs. i think the public will be reassured and further reassured now that they know there's a commission that's functioning inside the executive branch.

>> who should lead that debate? the president? >> well, the president could lead that debate. he's defended the programs. congress can lead that debate. senator feinstein, the democratic chair of the senate intelligence committee and mike rogers, the republican chair of the house intelligence committee stepped up and talked about this. the senate intelligence committee made sure that all senators are briefed, information now about the so-called fisa court, a retating court of 11 federal courts in "the washington post" this morning and maybe some of the decisions will be declassified or part shlly declassified. if we don't operate within the rules, we seriously risk compromising sources and methods and you better believe it. bad guys out there are learning everything they can about these programs and figuring work arounds so that their e-mails and phone calls are not discovered and a bad thing for the homeland security of the united states. >> former congresswoman jane

harmon, appreciate your time. >> thank you. paula dean may have to take a big bite out of humble pie. controversy over her use of a racial slur growing. next, how she's compared to an assault suspect. [ lorenzo ] i'm lorenzo.

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well, technically i wear one. ♪ chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for boat insurance. geico, see how much you could save. a lot of paula deen's fans standing by her. the celebrity chef admitted to using the "n" word but supporters say what she said years ago is over and done with

and that the food network should not have canceled her contract. other corporate partners are reconsidering their ties with her. >> we share the concerns that are being raised about the unfortunate paula deen situation. qvc does not tolerate discriminatory behavior. we're aware that there's ongoing litigation examining the situation. we're watching those developments closely. and reviewing our business relationship with miss deen. >> she and her brother are sued. i spoke to james panawoznik and carrie goff for "the root" and they have a lot to say about what she said. >> first of all, the fact, first of all, she waited three days. problem number one. no good comes from -- look. often not the crime but the

cover-up. we hear that saying. there's a sense when someone does something egregious and take their time taking full responsibility and i hate to draw parallels. she is not abused of physically abusing someone but shades of the chris brown saga, right? what ultimately hurt chris brown and hard to come back from is people like me who supported his al b albums and then photos of rihanna. he never said he beat or assaulted her until a year and a half later. it was all i'm sorry for what had occurred, transpired. she hid for three days and then first apology comes out, i'm sorry for hurtful language. what exactly did you say that you're sorry for and why are you sorry for it? and that's what i think they really dropped the ball on. >> james, you almost get in to the psychology of what you believe the psychology is behind

the words, the history, that she has here and represents today. you stating in in the article and i'll pull a portion of it. deen made a pile of money off the idea of old-school southern culture. in return, she had an obligation to that culture, an obligation not to embody its worst, most shameful history and attitudes. instead, in one swoop she single-handedly affirmed people's worst suspicions of people who talk an eat like her, along with glibly insulting minorities. she slurred many of the very fans who made her successful. she made it that much harder to say that confederate bean soup is just that recipe. you've gone on very strong here. you think at the root of this is some real insincerity in her statement? >> i think getting in to the quote you said there, obviously, the greater injury when someone

commits a racial slur is to the race they're slurring and an insult to paula deen's fans here. one thing, you know, that sort of inspired me to write that, a comment i was seeing after the news broke is people saying, is anybody surprised? you know, she's an older woman from the south. she, you know, you know, references down home culture and of course she would do this, you know, and in a way she sort of embodying people's worst suspicions of somebody like her, you know, sort of bringing her fans in to this, people who, you know, appreciate her food and, you know, want to, you know, enjoyed that without necessarily linking themselves to, you know, the less -- aspect of old southern culture. >> right. >> and, you know, but by doing

this, she really sort of created an injury there, as well. >> that was james and keli. thanks so much to both. all right. he is the daredevil who walked across niagara falls on a highwire. you won't believe what jaw dropping stunt he is doing tonight. he'll explain to us, next.

nick wolenda holds seven world records for daring exploits on the high wire. tonight millions will watch on television as he tries something never done before he will walk on a wire stretch's cross the grand canyon. remember this? last year, nick wallenda high above niagara falls. he becomes the first to cross from u.s. to canada on a high

wire. he does it live on national television. now, he wants to top that with a walk over the grand canyon. >> no one in the world has done that. i try to find a unique twist on everything that i do and try to find places no one in the world ever walked before. this is truly a dream come true. >> he'll be 1,500 feet high, higher than the empire state building with nothing but a wire between him and the ground far below. no net, no tether. wallenda has been training for years at his home in sarasota, florida. not even tropical storm andrea kept him off the wire in early june. why does he do it? >> this is something i've done since i was 2 years old. it truly is my passion. >> he is the seventh generation of the famous wallenda family to do high wire stunts. the family was known for its seven-person pyramid. in 1962, in detroit, something went horribly wrong. two members of the family fell

to their death and a third was paralyzed. >> guide them every step of the way. >> when nick wallenda was a teenager, he helped the family recreate the same stunt at the same detroit arena. this time success. nick is dedicating his upcoming walk across the grand canyon to his great grandfather carl wallenda. i asked about what's driving him to do this. it seems as though you probably have defied or far extended all expectations of your family. you said your great grandfather is one you were honoring carl wallenda. do you think your family thought would you take it to these heights, so to speak? >> i don't know if they thought i would or not. i believe no matter what you do, you should do it to the best of

your ability. i believe doing things big. i do everything to honor my great grandfather carl wallenda and put the family on the map. >> why is this something you're looking forward to? >> i'm carrying on a legacy. hard for you to relate to, but my great grandfather said life is on the wire, everything else is waiting. for our family, that's true. >> how do you prepare yourself for days prior to the walk? >> well, it's a lot of mental prep. i trained in sarasota, florida, where we put up a cable about 1,000 feet long but rigged identical to the way it's rigged over the canyon. when you're walking at a height greater than the empire state building, you can play tricks on your mind. it's important i'm in control of those thoughts. one of the challenges is all the media that wants to talk about the doom and gloom. this is real, this is untethered. this is life or death.

as the media wants to play up it's so dangerous and you could lose your life, i have to filter all those thoughts out and continue to focus on the positive. >> right. you're not thinking about, don't want to think about the doom and gloom, as you put it. so what are you thinking about when you are walking? >> i'm puritying myself back in the training ground as i was training last week in sarasota, i was training with wind gusts 45 to 50 miles per hour. i stayed with wind speeds of 92 miles per hour. all of that is mental prep. >> mental preparation for the huge challenge. what does he do in the moments just before a big high wire walk? >> i say a prayer with my family and give them a hug and kiss and tell them i'll see them in a few minutes. that's it. >> that's a lot. we'll be watching wallenda's grand canyon crossing attempt. you'll see it tonight in a special called "sky wire live with nik wallenda" on the discovery channel 8:00 p.m. eastern time. what do nasa, starbucks and

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really? hold the whipped cream and swap for skim. starbucks will unveil calorie counts for all coffee and food items. food and drug administration plans to mandate calorie posting nationwide by the end of next year. wednesday we'll watch nasa as it launches a satellite into orbit to collect data on the sun.

it should send back the most detailed information ever collected on the sun's lower atmosphere. >> family and friends will gather on thursday for the funeral of "sopranos" actor james gandolfini at the cathedral of st. john the devine. friday, beyonce kicks off the leg of her world tour in los angeles. that's going to do it for me. i'm fredricka whitfield. much more of the cnn news room with my colleague don lemon. hello. top of the hour, i'm don lemon. we come on the air with some unfortunate news about a man who is a current representation of freedom and equality around the world. nelson mandela, the 94-year-old former president of south africa, there is late word tonight that his health has taken a turn